Flavius Philostratus:

The Life of Apollonius

Translated by F.C. Conybeare

Summary of Book 7:

The dramatic climax of the Life of Apollonius is
formed by the sage's confrontation with the tyrant Domitian
in Book 7 and the first part of book 8. After an introduction comparing
Apollonius'
actions with the attitude of philosophers to tyrants in the past -a comparison
which naturally comes down in favor of Apollonius (7.1-4)-, Philostratus
relates Apollonius' public opposition to the tyrant and his exhortations
to the governors and
senators
-including Orfitus, Rufus and the future emperor Nerva-
to revolt against the tyrannic regime (7.5-8). As a part of the preparations
for a trial of these senators, Domitian issues a warrant for the arrest
of Apollonius, who has been maligned by Euphrates to the emperor. Apollonius
foresees this warrant and on his own initiative he leaves Smyrna for Dicaearchia
(Puteoli), accompanied by Damis.
He meets Demetrius there (7.9) and resists his attempts to deter him from
engaging in a confrontation with Domitian (7.11-14). Apollonius and Damis
sail to Rome, where the sage of Tyana is arrested and has a meeting with
the praetorian
prefect, Aelianus,
who is well disposed toward him (7.15-21). Apollonius is incarcerated in
a prison with a mild regime; he instills courage in Damis and his fellow
prisoners (7.22-26) and sees through the trickery of one of Domitian's
spies (7.27). A servant of Aelianus advises him on the line to adopt with
the emperor (7.28). At his first meeting with the emperor, Apollonius defends
himself against the charges (7.32f). The emperor orders him to be shaved
and put in irons (7.34). Philostratus dismisses a letter attributed to
Apollonius, in which the philosopher begs for Domitian's mercy, as a forgery
(7.35). Apollonius brushes off another of Domitian's spies (7.36f) and
inspires Damis with new courage by miraculously shaking off his fetters
(7.38). Through the intervention of Aelianus, Apollonius is transferred
to the prison with a mild regime (7.40). He sends Damis back to Dicaearchia
(7.41) and listens to the story of a young man from Messene, who has been
imprisoned for spurning the emperor's advances.

[§1] I am aware that the conduct of philosophers
under despotism is the truest touchstone of their character, and am in
favor of inquiring in what way any one man displays more courage than another.
And my argument also considers me to consider the point; for during the
reign of Domitian,
Apollonius
was beset by accusations and writs of information, the several origins,
sources and counts of which I shall presently enlarge upon; and as I shall
be under the necessity of specifying the language which he used and the
role which he assumed, when he left the court after convicting the tyrant
rather than being himself convicted, so I must first of all enumerate all
the feats of wise men in the presence of tyrants which I have found worthy
of commemoration, and contrast them with the conduct of Apollonius. For
this I think is the best way of finding out the truth.

[§2] Zeno then of Elea, who was the father
of dialectic, was convicted of an attempt to overthrow the tyranny of Nearchus
the Mysian; and being put to the rack he refused to divulge the names of
his accomplices, though he accused of disloyalty those who were loyal to
the tyrant,
with the result that, whereas they were put to death on the assumption
that his accusations were true, he effected the liberation of the Mysians,
by tripping despotism up over itself.

And Plato
declares that he took up the cause of the liberation of the people of Sicily,
and associated himself in this enterprise with Dion.

And Phyton, when he was banished from Rhegium, fled to Dionysius the
tyrant of Sicily; but being treated with more honor than an exile might
expect, he realized that the tyrant had designs also upon Rhegium; and
he informed the people there of this by letter. But he was caught doing
so by the tyrant, who forthwith fastened him to one of his siege engines
alive, and then pushed it forward against the walls, imagining that the
inhabitants of Rhegium would not shoot at the machine in order to spare
Phyton. He, however, cried out to them to shoot, for, said he: "I am the
target of your liberty."

And Heraclides and Python who slew Cotys the Thracian were both of them
young men, and they embraced the principles of the Academy and made themselves
wise and so free men.

And who does not know the story of Callisthenes
of Olynthus? He on one and the same day delivered a panegyric and of
an attack upon the Macedonians,
just at the time when they were at the acme of their power [during
the reign of Alexander
the Great]; and they put him to death for exciting their displeasure.

Then there were Diogenes
of Sinope and Crates of Thebes, of whom the former went direct to Chaeronea,
and rebuked Philip
for his treatment of the Athenians, on the ground that, though asserting
himself to be a descendant of Heracles
he yet was destroying by force of arms those who had taken up arms in defense
of the descendants of Heracles.

The other Crates, when Alexander
declared that he would rebuild Thebes for his sake, replied that he would
never stand in need of a country or of a city, which anyone could raze
to the ground by mere force of arms.

Many more examples of this kind can be adduced, but my treatise does
not allow me to prolong them. It is indeed incumbent upon me to criticize
these examples, not in order to show that they were not as remarkable as
they are universally famous, but only to show that they fell short of the
exploits of Apollonius, in spite of their being the best of their kind.

[§3] About the conduct of Zeno of Elea
then, and about the murder of Cotys there is nothing very remarkable; for
as it is easy to enslave Thracians and Getae, so it is an act of folly
to liberate them; for indeed they do not appreciate freedom, because, I
imagine, they do not esteem slavery to be base.

I will not say that Plato somewhat lacked wisdom when he set himself
to reform the affairs of Sicily rather than those of Athens, or that he
was sold in all fairness when, after deceiving others, he found himself
deceived, for I fear to offend my readers.

But the despotic sway of Dionysius over Sicily was not solidly based
when Phyton of Rhegium made his attempt against him, and in any case he
would have been put to death by him, even if the people of that city had
not shot their bolts at him; his achievement, then, I think, was by no
means wonderful: he only preferred to die in behalf of the liberty of others
rather than to endure the death penalty to make himself a slave.

And as for Callisthenes, even today he cannot acquit himself of baseness;
for in first commending and then attacking one and the same set of people,
he either attacked those whom he felt to be worthy of praise, or he praised
those whom he ought to have been openly attacking. Moreover a person who
sets himself to abuse good men cannot escape the charge of being envious,
while he who flatters the wicked by his very praises of them draws down
upon his own head the guilt of their misdeeds, for evil men are only rendered
more evil when you praise them.

And Diogenes, if he had addressed Philip in the way he did before the
battle of Chaeronea instead of after it, might have preserved him from
the guilt of taking up arms against Athens; but instead of doing so he
waited till harm was done, when he could only reproach him, not reform
him.

As for Crates, he must needs incur the censure of every patriot for
not seconding Alexander in his design of recolonizing Thebes.

But Apollonius had not to fear for any country that was endangered,
nor was he in despair of his own life, nor was he reduced to silly and
idle speeches, nor was he championing the cause of Mysians or Getae, nor
was he face to face with one who was only sovereign of a single island
or of an inconsiderable country, but he confronted one who was master both
of sea and land, at a time when his tyranny was harsh and bitter; and he
took his stand against the tyrant in behalf of the welfare of the subjects,
with the same spirit of purpose as he had taken his stand against Nero.

[§4] Some may think that his attitude towards
Nero was a mere bit of skirmishing, because he did not come to close quarters
with him, but merely undermined his despotism by his enocuragement of Vindex,
and the terror with which he inspired Tigellinus.
And there are certain braggarts here who foster the tale that it required
no great courage to assail a man like Nero who led the life of a female
harpist or flautist. But what, I would ask, have they to say about Domitian?

Domitian
(Museo Arqueológico,
Sevilla)

For he was vigorous in body, and he abjured all those pleasures of
music and song which wear away and soften down ferocity; and he took pleasure
in the sufferings of others and in any lamentations they uttered. And he
was in the habit of saying that distrust is the best safeguard of the people
against their tyrants and of the tyrant against the multitude; and though
he thought that a sovereign ought to rest from all hard work during the
night, yet he deemed it the right season to begin murdering people in.

And the result was that while the Senate
had all its most distinguished members cut off, philosophy was reduced
to cowering in a corner, to such an extent that some of its votaries disguised
themselves by changing their dress and ran away to take refuge among the
western Celts, while others fled to the deserts of Libya and Scythia,
and others again stooped to compose orations in which his crimes were palliated.

But Apollonius, like Tiresias, who is represented by Sophocles
as addressing to Oedipus the word:

chose wisdom as his mistress, and escaped scot-free from paying tribute
to Domitian.

Applying to himself, as if it were an oracle, the verse of Tiresias
and of Sophocles, and fearing nothing for himself, but only pitying the
fate of others, he set himself to rally round him all the younger men of
the Senate, and husband such intelligence as he saw discerned in many of
them; and he visited the provinces
and in the name of philosophy he appealed to the governors,
pointing out to them that the strength of a tyrant is not immortal, and
that the very fact of their being dreaded exposes them to defeat. And he
also reminded them of the Panathenaic festival in Attica, at which hymns
are sung in honor of Harmodius
and Aristogeiton, and of the sally that was made from Phyle, when thirty
tyrants at once were overthrown; and he also reminded them of the ancient
history of the Romans, and of how they too had been a democracy, after
driving out despotism, arms in hand.[2]

Theater of Ephesus

[§5] And on occasion when a tragic actor
visited Ephesus and came forward in the play called the Ino, and
when the governor of Asia was one of the audience, a man who was though
still young and of very distinguished rank among the consuls,
was nevertheless very nervous about such matters, just as the actor finished
the speech in which Euripides
describes in his iambics how tyrants after long growth of their power are
destroyed by little causes, Apollonius leapt up and said: ""But yonder
coward understand neither Euripides nor myself!"